Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There was no misinformation given by the staff. It is a fact, as the Minister of State has just admitted, that those who commenced the programme on 1 September, approximately 400, no longer receive the allowance. It is not misinformation that the payment of €31.80 which would otherwise have been used to pay for lunches and travel to the training centres has been taken from new entrants. However, we must focus on the phrase used by the Minister of State, namely, that the €3.7 million taken from trainees will be used to address unmet needs. When will it be used to address unmet needs? The money was taken from the trainees on 1 September and for over a month that money has been sitting in a bank account or somewhere else. Will it be used to address unmet needs next week, next month, next year or the year after? Will the Minister of State be precise in his answer?

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